


Nobody's Perfect, Especially Us

by Lady_Lightning



Series: Littleverse [17]
Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Little!Bruce, Littleverse, Other, caregiver!Clark, caregiver!john, little!Wally, neutral!Diana, neutral!J'onn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25930138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Lightning/pseuds/Lady_Lightning
Summary: Clark can be scary when he's angry. Though Bruce won't admit that, he's too big to be afraid and sometimes Daddy needs help remembering what's right too.
Relationships: Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne
Series: Littleverse [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1356301
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Daddy's Kinda Scary

**Author's Note:**

> An oofie on my part because I was watching this TV show while doing homework when inspiration for this struck and here I am.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Bruce hadn’t meant for things between him and Clark to get to the point it did. Sometimes he just can’t help it. He hadn’t even realized he was feeling crabby because he needed Little time. He still couldn’t tell when he was getting to that point.

It had happened plenty of times before and Clark had simply realized the symptoms and dealt with him with ease. This time was completely different. Bruce had been crabby and that didn’t help when Darkseid had shown up through a boom tube on the Watchtower.

Bruce knew what had happened between the two, Clark had a major issue with him. As much as Bruce knew this, they needed to help Darkseid if Brainiac was involved. Clark didn’t agree easy but demanded to be in charge of the mission and sent Bruce and Diana to New Genisis to talk with Obrien and the Highfather. 

Bruce swears… he’ll never let Clark lead another mission ever again. He even told Wonder Woman to hit him real hard if he ever tried to put Clark in charge again.

~~~

In the end, of course, Darkseid had crossed them. Bruce, Diana, and Obrien had shown up just in time to get everyone out. Hawkgirl was in rough shape and then Clark disappeared. Bruce went running after him, knowing that idiot was going after Darkseid. He commanded that J’onn and Diana take off as he ran back the way he came.

When he finally found Superman, he was getting a decent beating from Darkseid. He grabbed onto Clark’s arm tugging him backward and yelling that they need to leave. Clark had tried to tell Bruce to leave, but he wasn’t thinking straight. Bruce wasn’t the only one who needed to leave.

Clark didn’t seem to understand that, though because he shoved Bruce off and into the wall. Pain lanced through his shoulder as he landed and he instantly grabbed at it. His eyes teared up and that was when he realized that he was so snappish because he was in need of some Little time.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t be Little right now and he certainly didn’t want to be Little around Clark. He narrowed his tearing eyes and lept forward grabbing onto Clark as he took out his boom tube activator. One click and they were being pulled through the gateway as the asteroid started to explode. Thankfully Orien was pulled into the tube as well, his unconscious form sliding along the ground until it was lifted completely into the air and boom tube.

~~~ 

The boom tube landed them back onto New Genisis. Though there was still a problem. Bruce was staring face to face with a very angry Superman. No, this surely wasn’t Clark. Clark was in full force Superman mode. 

Clark stomped off with an indignant “You know what Bruce? You’re not always right,” 

Bruce just watched him go, feeling more Little by the second. He was far too nervous to be Little around Clark right now. He headed back to the Javelin 7, soon being joined by the rest of his team. J’onn took the controls, Batman being his co-pilot. It didn’t take long for Bruce to fall asleep though.

~~~

When Bruce woke up he was drifting. He also wasn’t in the Javelin but in what appeared to be J’onn’s private quarters on the Watchtower. He guessed that J’onn sensed he was awake because he appeared a moment later, walking through the automatic doors. 

Bruce didn’t have to say much of anything for J’onn to know what was going on. Bruce took that as a plus because as soon as he realized who hadn’t walked through the doors he had been wailing far too hard to try any form of communication.

J’onn instantly set to calming the distressed Little, using his telepathy to express his calm nature in hopes that it would calm Bruce even the slightest. He knew the instant that Bruce had walked toward the Javelin alone what was going on. 

He hadn’t had the chance to talk with Clark yet but he had known that Bruce had been drifting and cranky for days. It just so happened that this time he was far to stressed at the end of the fight to really be able to voice what was really happening.

He knew that if Bruce had even slightly shown to Clark that he had been drifting that any of Clark’s anger would have instantly melted away and his Caregiver mode would have taken over. Unfortunately, those two were often so stubborn that they got in the way of themselves. It only got worse when it was both of them together.

Instead of those two talking, J’onn had a handful of distressed Little and a still completely pissed Superman. He wasn’t sure if Superman would even respond to his calls and J’onn knew that Bruce was nowhere near comfortable with letting J’onn take care of him.

He set to getting Bruce into his clothes first. Superman would have to wait. J’onn wanted to accidents on his watch. Bruce was already hysterical, he wasn’t going to risk it getting worse.

Thankfully, the watchtower had been evacuated for the day, everyone out and roaming earth after a long away battle. J’onn flew freely up to the control tower where he then attempted to contact Superman, noticing that Bruce had somehow managed to fall asleep. 

It took a while but he finally answered his comms. “Hey, J’onn what do you need?” He asked as politely as he could considering his stormy mood.

“When was the last time you and Bruce had scheduled Little time?” J’onn asked first, hoping that being blunt would pull Superman further away from his bad mood.

“How- you know what, nevermind I’m not even going to ask.” Superman started. “We have a Little session coming up next week, for the 12th, I think,” Clark said flatly.

“Clark the 12th was six days ago,” J’onn told him softly.

“No, that can’t be,” Clark stated. “Bruce wasn’t showing any signs of underexposure, he would have dropped if his Little time was late…” Clark told J’onn.

When J’onn remained silent over the line, Superman sighed. “He dropped on the flight home, didn’t he,” Superman asked. “Well, no wonder he was acting up about the mission.”

“You have no room to talk,” J’onn stated fairly. “You know that if it weren’t for him you wouldn’t still be here. And not just today either.”

“I know,” Superman said. “I’m on my way,”

“Good,” J’onn said. “It’s time we talk about this and besides, we need to talk about the last mission. Bruce wouldn’t have had to do this if you’d kept a level head,”

“Alright, J’onn I get it,” Superman conceded. “ Keep an eye on him for me, I’m almost there,”


	2. A Little Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is a little anxious after everything that's happened and J'onn is determined to get the Little back to where he belongs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah~ and ending with an opening for another story~ just because I'm like that.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

As soon as Clark saw Bruce and J’onn he flew to them, holding his arms out to receive his Little. However, J’onn didn’t move an inch, securely holding onto Bruce as he slept. He sighed, “Not until we talk, then? Fine. Let’s go to the kitchens and grab some food.” Superman turned to lead the way, noting how J’onn followed behind. 

Once they were settled at the table, food in front of them, Clark once again spoke up. “Well?” He asked quietly. It took a moment for J’onn to respond.

“I sensed hesitation earlier,” J’onn started. “After Bruce had returned with you.” 

“Hesitation?” Clark asked.

“The hesitation was an extension of his fear. Whatever happened between you two before he pulled you into the boom tube must have scared him.”

“Batman doesn’t get scared, though…” Clark tried to cover. 

“We both know that’s not true. And besides, at the time he was clearly drifting. It might have not scare Big Bruce but Little Bruce was probably terrified. What happened?” J’onn was determined to know. As easily as he could set up a link into Bruce’s mind with his telepathy, it was much harder for him to dig around in Bruce’s memories. The man had a very sturdy telepathic block. He must have had some training, J’onn was sure.

“I told him to leave,” Clark sighed. “Bruce, being Bruce refused. He grabbed me and I shoved him away. He flew into the wall and the next moment he was pulling me into the boom tube.” he admitted. “Now that I think of it, he hit his shoulder pretty hard and probably hasn’t even gotten it looked at yet,”

“Let’s get to the med bay and get a look at his shoulder then,” J’onn said calmly as he stood up. “You’re normally one to have your temper under control,” he continued, “You basically tossed your Little into a wall because he was scared to lose you,” J’onn pointed out.

Clark’s heart damn near ripped in half at that. J’onn was right. He should’ve seen the signs. Looking back, he knew Bruce had been drifting for days. He’d been oblivious to the normally obvious signs and ended up tossing his drifting Little into a wall out of anger. 

Clark was just about ready to cry as J’onn laid Bruce onto a gurney to begin running tests. Clark scanned over Bruce with his x-ray vision and sighed in relief when he found nothing broken. “Nothing’s broken,” Clark stated.

“That’s good. We just need to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion, and to check his shoulder for any type of injury,” he replied, typing away at the machines as they scanned over Bruce’s head and shoulder.

In the end, J’onn was able to confirm that no injuries were acquired and that Bruce was perfectly fine. “What now?” Clark asked as they both watched over Bruce, snoring slightly. 

“Start slowly,” J’onn told him. “Even now I can sense his lingering fear and nervousness.”

Clark simply nodded as they both waited for Bruce to wake. “You should probably get some rest,” J’onn told him. “I can wake you when Bruce is awake,”

“Alright,” Clark replied, yawning not two seconds after his reply.

~~~

Bruce woke over two hours later and was even deeper into headspace than normal. Just sitting up was a challenge as he threw his weight around to figure it out. Eventually, he did and came face-to-face with J’onn who smiled calmly at him.

Bruce was too far into headspace to even realize that someone new knew his identity, reaching his arms up for the comfort of being held. J’onn lifted him easily enough and Bruce sighed as he leaned into the warm embrace.

J’onn was a little stiff but other than that brought great comfort to the anxiety-ridden Little. “How about we find your Daddy?” J’onn asked quietly, not wanting to make the little uneasy. He heard Bruce whine a bit but no other protest.

As he started walking toward Clark’s private room Bruce’s grip got even tighter. He could feel the waves of anxiety just rolling off of the poor kid. His whining intensified as J’onn pushed on until it stopped as J’onn stood right outside of Clark’s door.

“It’s alright, little one,” J’onn assured him as the door whooshed open, giving Bruce a comforting and gentle pat on the back. He walked into the room and gently woke Superman as Bruce hid his face in his shoulder.

“Superman, wake up,” J’onn said. Clark rolled over and opened his eyes with a yawn before slowly getting out of bed. He was in a normal set of pajamas- Bruce’s favorite ones to snuggle into. 

“Slowly,” J’onn said as he saw Superman reach for the Little. “He’s very anxious,” he told him.

“He’s shaking…” Clark said sadly, “ I’ve never seen him shake like this before…”

“He’ll be okay,” J’onn assured. “He just needs some reassurance,” J’onn gave him a little jumble, hoping that bobbing the boy would get him to leave his hiding spot. He got a whine and small glare from the one blue eye that popped out of his shoulder.

“Let’s say hello,” J’onn told Bruce calmly as he adjusted the boy so that his face was out in the open. Teary eyes looked at both Clark and J’onn. It only took a minute for him to burst into tears. “How should we calm him?” J’onn asked, slightly panicked by the show of emotion. He was still used to such a stoic Batman.

“Well, obviously I’m not helping,” Clark said sadly, “I’ve never seen him cry like this before, though. I have no clue how to stop it,”

Without a lead, J’onn stood for a minute and thought as Bruce squirmed and cried. Bruce was a very rare Little- completely unique. What would he have done to calm his own distressed children?

J’onn started to sing. Nothing that Bruce would be able to understand but he hoped the melody would be calming nonetheless. It took a mere two seconds for Bruce to stop crying, staring at J’onn, completely mesmerized. J’onn continued until Bruce was completely content.

Clark sat back and watched as J’onn sang to his Little. While he was sad at the circumstances, he was pleased to see Bruce content with someone else knowing his identity and Classification as well as a new side of J’onn.

“He seems content now,” J’onn announced as he turned back to Clark, more than ready to try handing Bruce off again. 

“Alright,” Clark sighed. Clark reached his arms out to take his Little, noticing how for a brief second Bruce pushed closer against J’onn. Then he looked up with teary, inquisitive eyes before reaching out to Clark, hands open as he sniffled.

As soon as Bruce was close enough, he latched onto Clark. He was holding on so tight that Clark didn’t want to risk hurting him by trying to move him. J’onn let out a little bit of a chuckle, “I’ll leave you to it,”

~~~

“Bruce! Hey you know you’re not supposed to-” Clark said loudly though no anger resided in his voice. His sentence got cut short as he was hit in the face with a couch pillow as Bruce very unsteadily ran around the private floor of the Watchtower.

Bruce was still a little skittish but otherwise was fine. It was true what J’onn said, he’d just needed some reassurance over the past couple of days. He’d slowly opened up out of his shell and was deeper into Headspace that Clark had seen in a while. 

Clark paused in thought. It was obvious that J’onn had known Bruce’s Classification early on. Nobody in the league really mentioned their classifications. Maybe it was time to have that discussion. It should’ve happened long ago if he was honest. They’d been a team for over a year now. It was long overdue…

Well, it could wait a few more days until Bruce was Big again and able to talk through the idea with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you soon! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> See you soon!
> 
> ;)


End file.
